Japanese food - おいしいですね

One of the things I was really looking forward to on my first ever trip to Japan was the food. I've been to a few Japanese restaurants, both in Oslo and other cities, and I've tried to make Japanese food at home, with ingredients bought either at the only Japanese food shop in Oslo, or ordered online. But nothing compares with eating a country's food in its country of origin. 

EATING OUT

On your own:-

Eating at restaurants in Japan on your own is a bit of a challenge. Finding the entrance, reading the menu, I had no idea it would be so difficult! My first evening in Tokyo I wondered around Shinjuku and ended up at a udon place at street level. I went in and ordered, not realizing I had to buy a ticket from the vending machine outside first.  Reading a menu is virtually impossible for those of us who have only passed JLPT level 4, but many places have plastic food displays so you can just point to whatever tickles your fancy:-)

With someone who knows where to go:-

Having a Japanese friend is the best way to eat out in Japan. I was very lucky to have a friend who took me to some fantastic restaurants where I got to eat really great Japanese food. Some of the places we went to were very small, often hidden in a basement, or up a lift and along a corridor, so I would never have found them on my own. Other places were at street level, but with only Japanese menus and no English speaking staff.

Okonomiyagu at Shinjuku, batter delivered to the table which we fried by ourselves on a hotplate.

7 course dinner in China town in Yokohama

Sushi

Yakuniku-ya, a korean style barbecue where we cooked meat at a little grill at the table.

Some like it hot, some like it cold:-) Soba. Note the natou which I was dared to taste! I prefered my hot soba with irresistable tempura

Desserts

A couple of nights I bought dinner at 7/11 and ate at my hotel room. My favourite was a salad which reminded me of one I'd seen on the first jdorama I ever watched "Boku no madonna"

Lunch.

I hardly had time to eat during the day, trying to squeeze in so much every day! I became totally addicted to onigiri, bought at a konbini every morning before I set off exploring. However I needed a lesson on how to open them! The first time I tried I ended up with the nori still inside its plastic wrapping, my Japanese friend had a good laugh when I showed it to him, then gave me a opening a wrapped onigiri lesson:-)

What you see is not always what you get!!

My lunch in Kamakura. After having visited the great Buddha I walked down to the beach. On the way I passed a little tofu shop. I just had to go in! I pointed to a couple of items in the counter, bought a hot coffee from a vending machine, and sat on the beach with my little picnic. The things I'd pointed to looked so tasty, I imagined they'd be either savoury or somehow do-nutty, but they were bland and tasteless and greasy. Only afterwards did I learn that what I had bought was Aburaage (油揚げ), deep fried tofu, tasteless on its own, but apparently delicious when added to miso soup or udon dishes.

Eating dinner on the plane on the way home I suddenly realized I'd only eaten with a fork once in my two weeks in Japan. But I never learned to slurp! Maybe next time:-))